BuaNews (Tshwane)
Bathandwa Mbola
8 May 2008
Pretoria — The South African government has joined the international community in sending its condolences to the people of Myanmar after a cyclone hit the country, killing over 20 000 people and destroying property and infrastructure.
"It is with a deep sense of regret that the government and people of South Africa learnt of the deaths of so many citizens of Myanmar as well as the destruction of property and infrastructure," the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
The department said South Africa was ready to join the international community in assisting the people of Myanmar, within its limited resources, in mitigating the effects of this disaster.
The country was hit by Cyclone Nargis, which swept through Irrawaddy delta region on Friday, left thousands of people dead in its wake and hundreds of thousands without shelter.
The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance could number in the hundreds of thousands, according to the United Nations which is mobilising aid.
With winds of over 190 kilometres per hour, the storm tore down trees and power lines and caused widespread flooding.
Myanmar authorities have declared five regions - Yangon, Ayeyarwwady, Bago, Mon and Kayin as disaster areas.
The population of these areas is estimated at 24 million, with an estimated six million in Yangon.
More than 3 000 people are reportedly missing in Ayeyarwady Division alone.
Infrastructure was badly damaged by the cyclone and aid agencies had warned the country was facing hunger and disease.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distributing food in cyclone-damaged areas of Yangon.
The agency has taken initial steps to meet the enormous logistics challenge of bringing in disaster relief supplies, equipment and prepared foods urgently needed by people in badly-hit areas.
WFP now has more than 800 metric tons of food stocks available in its warehouses in Yangon, and will deliver these food resources to all areas in need, including the Ayeryawaddy Division, the largest and hardest hit of the five major divisions affected by the cyclone.
WFP's $500 000 initial emergency operation will fund the airlifts of food supplies and emergency staff deployments.
The UN refugee agency, for its part, is emptying its emergency shelter material stockpiles in neighbouring Thailand of plastic sheeting and tents for some 10 000 people for urgent dispatch to Yangon.
The supplies would be distributed through a Disaster Management Committee that had been established by the Myanmar Government.
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I was interested to read that the South african Government wishes to join the international community in sending aid to Mayanmar. Are they unaware of the serious situation in Eastern Cape villages, particularly the extremely poor village of Goboti in the Municipality of Engcobo? That village, along with others was hit by a tornado on the 19th of April and people are still waiting for some sort of Government help. Perhaps a big disaster elsewhere diverts attention from the dire situation at home? Goboti villagers are still wondering where the next meal is going to come from.